This latest work features individuals seeking fresh starts, trying to break free from drugs or toxic relationships, only to witness hope devolve into aggression. Chris Kraus often employs the phrase "fresh start", transforming it into deliberately jaded through its repetitions. Phrases such as "He was ready for a new beginning" and "They chose to begin anew" recur in the story. At the same time, she is embarking on her own fresh start, as this presents as a different type of work – observational, authentically narrative. However it reveals itself to be packed with the recurring issues and styles as her previous works.
From Accidental Writer to Iconic Work
Chris Kraus began as an artist who became a writer somewhat by chance with her 1997 cult classic I Love Dick, structured as epistles to an unresponsive love interest, converting intimate women's literature from abjection into rebellion. She continued writing, but the three subsequent engaging and challenging novels did not possess the power and directness that the epistolary style imparted to the narrative voice of I Love Dick. It didn't help was her position as a renegade artist who had turned into a extensive real estate holder, so there was considerable focus on property transactions. It makes sense that she now wants to experiment with new kinds of material, looking outwards to external narratives, at a moment when she asserts that current political era turns intimate literature unnecessary.
Several Eras, Shared Inescapable History
The Four Spent the Day Together is structured in three parts, covering multiple eras – none able to break free from their backgrounds. There is the story of a couple named Emma and Jasper, versions of her own mother and father, moving from the Bronx to rural Connecticut. Then there is the story of Kraus herself, in the persona of protagonist Catt Greene, grappling with the belated success of I Love Dick, the ascent of a political figure, and her substance-dependent spouse Paul. And there is the story of the murder of one directionless individual by another in a town long abandoned by liberal ideals only a brief drive from Catt's rural residence in the Minnesota countryside.
From my perspective as a reader drawn to polished prose of the kind the author herself tends to eschew, I was captivated by the narrative style of the initial segment.
Being a reader who appreciates precise prose of the style that Kraus herself often disregards, I was seduced by the storytelling approach of the initial part. There is a fresh level of observation that accommodates minutiae, like the bucket that the young Catt pries out of frozen water at the start of the story, helped by her beloved father. "Look, an ice toy!" she exclaims; "a lovely toy", he responds, "the elliptical meanings of words circulating in their speech like sweet treats". The author narrates Emma's story with interest and closeness. "It seemed to Emma she had entered a dream – not precisely her dream."
Disappointment and Disjunction
I was bound to become frustrated when I wished this different style could continue through the novel. Kraus notes here that she is annoyed by the pleasure those who appreciate polished prose have derived from I Love Dick; she's dedicated to disruption, to the messy artistic approach she has in common with her inspiration author Kathy Acker, and the emptiness and redundancy of her past books returns in the central part. Catt Greene is attempting to do up multiple decrepit residences in the most troubled areas of Albuquerque while traveling between the Midwest and the West Coast, unable to aid Paul manage his alcohol use. She is overwhelmed as Paul cycles through low-resource employment as an substance abuse counselor in a society fueled by the rage and anxiety that powers an electoral success. A significant portion discusses about Catt being cancelled on social media, her listed profession modified from "writer" to "property owner" on the online encyclopedia. Kraus still seems to be overly concerned about this. On one occasion she remarks that she's researching the homicide so that before exiting the region, "she might be able to learn something about an the nation that her social media opponents would be unable to grasp, would not even perceive".
The Homicide Account
Thus we arrive to the actual killing – and the titular day experienced by the deceased with the killer and his companions. Kraus has great source material, and knows hour by hour what occurred as Brandon came to see Brittney after connecting via an application where she sold sex pictures. He sought a sexual encounter but seems amiably to have occupied the day in the company of her associates, loitering getting his car mended and funding treats and narcotics, before being shot by Brittney's partner a man named Micah – a youth with psychological issues who has often been institutionalized for fits of anger.
Preoccupation and Open Ends
Catt develops an obsession by the story, and I found myself captivated by the way that Kraus's dual urges towards ethical reporting and audacious rule-breaking wrestle in this part. But I'd have liked her to explore more thoroughly her own obsessions here. The compelling persona is Brittney, who gains dimension in part due to the protagonist's connection to her – a similarly gifted, tormented individual derailing in a struggling, neglected community. Kraus notes that the protagonist communicates with Brittney in prison, but she omits the dramatization of these talks. The complete segment feels oddly unfinished, to the point that the author's storytelling ends almost mid-par
